Hi!

I'm Andrew Murray, the technical founder and meteorologist at OpenSnow, a company dedicated to providing weather forecasts and in-depth analysis for skiers and outdoor enthusiasts around the world. OpenSnow and its sister app, OpenSummit, have become the go-to resources for millions around the world looking for reliable, accurate and up-to-the-minute weather predictions for their outdoor adventures. I am responsible for making sure everything from the mobile apps to weather models are working seamlessly and providing visitors with the most pertinent information.

Before starting OpenSnow, I worked at the National Weather Service as the mobile and geospatial program manager, and at the National Center for Atmospheric Research as a developer. While at the NWS, I developed the Western Water Supply Outlook framework and Interactive NWS (iNWS), a mobile alerting system for emergency managers. In 2010, I was awarded the NOAA Administrator’s Award for my work on iNWS.

I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in meteorology from the University of Utah, where few fellow ski-loving students and myself built Utah Ski Weather, a graduate-run website providing powder forecasts along the Wasatch Front. This site would later become a prelude to OpenSnow.

I grew up in the foothills of the Rockies just outside of Denver, Colorado and have loved weather since I was five years old. However, I recently traded out mountains for lakes with a move to Minneapolis, Minnesota, where I'm still slowly adjusting to living with humidity. When I'm not gazing at the clouds or writing code, you can find me somewhere outdoors hiking, biking, skiing or playing soccer. You might also find my on the other side of the world on one of my many, frequent travels. In a window seat, of course.

Projects

OpenSnow

My primary day job involves making sure all of the gears keep turning to provide snow forecasts for ski areas all over North America. Whether is making sure our websites are up, the model forecasts are being generated, our apps work on the newest cell phones, or testing our product on the slopes... it's never a boring day!

opensnow.com

Bugtree

Doing everything from photography to design to housewares, we help make cool stuff, help other people make cool stuff, and tell people about cool stuff. The company formerly known as Andrew Murray LLC and formerly-formerly known as Lunarnoon, the holding company for all of my crazy ideas.

OpenSummit

From the company that brought you OpenSnow, our first attempt at a product for summer outdoors activities. OpenSummit provides summit forecasts for all of Colorado's 14ers, giving you a heads up when (and when not) to go for your summit attempt. Available in the App Store now, full website coming in 2018.

MAKE Cooperative

The only coworking space in Minnesota incorporated as a cooperative. All the perks of a coworking space with the added benefit of community ownership. When I'm not giving tours to random people or making sure our bills are being paid on-time, I'm paining or building a wall with our members.

Light Roast Media

Designed the branding and website for a start-up public relations and media company located in the Twin Cities. Worked alongside their Chief Coffee Officer to create a brand that both emboldened their personality, but also came across as a professional firm that could handle any company's, big or small, media and communication needs.

Elias Murray Photography

Worked with my little brother, Elias, to develop a cohesive print and web presence for his photography business based in Montebello, California. Delivered a complete branding guide to help him grow his identity as a nature photographer around the Southern California area. Additionally helped with printed materials to distribute at Montebello Artist Corner monthly.

Rocky Mountain Soccer

A small project for one of my favourite places in Boulder, I worked with them to help create an e-commerece solution as a supplier of kits and equipment for the local youth soccer league. However,when I wasn't working with them, you usually could find me camped out there in front of the TV watching 'proper football', eating an ice cream cone, and working on another project.

Boulder Couch Crash

Started within the Couchsurfing community, a couch crash is where a city's community plans a weekend of events and activities, and invites to world to come visit. The Boulder Couch Crash was run for two years and had visitors from over 30 states and a 11 countries. As an organizer, I was responsible for organizing and marketing the events, and the day-to-day operation of the events.

National Weather Service

There were two large projects I worked on at NWS. Firstly I helped create interactiveNWS, the precursor to the broadcast emergency alerts that are standard on all cell phones now. This project won me the NOAA Administrators Award in 2010. Secondly, I worked on Western Water Supply a tool for water managers to better understand the seasonal streamflow forecasts in the western United States.

UStudents

One of my favorite things I ever did in college, I was appointed to the Executive Cabinet of the University of Utah student government. As the director of technology I was responsible for all of the digital and print materials created for events and activities put on by ASUU. It also gave me access to the university's Board of Regents and President. And some money off tuition.

Utah Ski Weather

My first real web project that still exists today, Utah Ski Weather was a project built in cooperation with the University of Utah and the graduate students of the Meteorology Department to forecast snowfall for ski areas in Northern Utah. Who would have though that a decade later I would be doing the same thing for my full-time job...

Travels

13 years and 4 months ago I created the “Andrew Travel Rule” which said I would attempt to travel once a month, every month. Since then I've gone on 190 different trips around the United States and the rest of the world!